1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the formation of fabrics used in designer coverings for architectural openings such as windows, doors, archways, and the like and more particularly to a method and apparatus for forming an elongated semi-rigid slat or blade of arcuate transverse cross-section for incorporation into a fabric used in a covering for architectural openings.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Coverings for architectural openings such as windows, doors, archways, and the like, have taken numerous forms over a long period of time. Coverings might simply constitute a fabric draped across a rod or other support in a permanent position but more popular coverings constitute retractable shades, fabrics, or the like. A popular covering used in architectural openings is a Venetian blind wherein a plurality of horizontally disposed slats are supported on tape or cord ladders so they can be rotated about their longitudinal axes between open and closed positions or retracted and extended across the opening in retracted and extended positions. Vertical blinds are similar to Venetian blinds except the slats extend vertically rather than horizontally. More recently, cellular shades have become very popular as they are not only aesthetically attractive but also insulative. Numerous forms of cellular shades have recently been developed and this has led to more interest in retractable fabric shades such as of the Roman Shade variety.
A variation of a Roman shade is disclosed in International Patent Application PCT/US2004/043043 filed on Dec. 21, 2004 and entitled “Retractable Shade For Coverings For Architectural Openings,” which is of common ownership with the present application and incorporated by reference herein. In that application, the covering for an architectural opening includes a plurality of rigid or semi-rigid fabric elongated slats of arcuate transverse cross-section which are supported on a flexible support structure and suspended in an architectural opening for movement between extended and retracted positions. In the extended position, the slats slightly overlap each other while presenting a multi-curved sheet-like appearance and in a retracted position, the slats are gathered on their supporting structure adjacent a headrail for the covering along the top of the architectural opening. The slats can be supported on various support structures which might be, by way of example, a sheet of sheer fabric, a plurality of vertically extended cords or microfibers, or interconnected strips of flexible material allowing the slats to hang or droop downwardly in a generally vertical plane. It is to develop a process and apparatus for forming the slats used in such a covering that the present invention has been developed.